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Through December 31,
2003, the Telfair Museum of Art, the oldest art museum in the South, is
exhibiting The Walter O.
Evans Collection of African American Art.

The Evans Collection is one of the finest private
collections of its kind in the country. Featuring more than 70 paintings,
sculptures, drawings, and photographs dating from 1848 through 1997, the
collection is a tribute to the vital artistic legacy of African Americans.
Beginning with works created just after the Civil War, the exhibition presents
a chronological view of African
American fine art traditions and is an extraordinary exploration of the
scope and diversity of African American art. (right: Charles White,
Sojouner Truth, 1940)

Telfair Executive Director Dr. Diane Lesko notes that the
collection is "stylistically diverse featuring early works by pioneering
neoclassical sculptor Edmonia Lewis, the first African American artist to
achieve international critical recognition, an early landscape by Henry
Ossawa Tanner, the most celebrated black American artist of the nineteenth-century,
and extraordinary collages by Romare Bearden." (left: Henry
Ossawa Tanner, Florida, 1894)

In the collection, the works of the 1920s and '30s by Aaron
Douglas and Richmond Barthé demonstrate the flowering of African
American culture attending the New Negro movement that underpinned the vibrant
Harlem Renaissance. During the Depression era, hundreds of talented
American artists were employed through the Works Progress Administration
(WPA), including Charles White and Dox Thrash, both of whom are represented
in the Evans Collection. One of the great black self-taught artists of the
twentieth century, Horace Pippin, is included, as well as sculptor Elizabeth
Catlett, celebrated for her powerful works exploring the status of women
in society.

Catlett, who now divides her time between Cuernavaca, Mexico,
and New York City, is the scheduled International Paper Distinguished
Lecturer for this exhibition. She spoke about her life and work at the
Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences on October 7. (right: Margaret
Burroughs, Girl Seated, 1959)

Telfair Curator of Fine Arts, Holly Koons-McCullough observes,
"The Evans Collection is remarkable for both its quality and
its comprehensive scope, ranging from mid-19th-century works by neoclassical
sculptor Mary Edmonia Lewis to 20th-century abstractions by Alma Thomas.
Additionally, the collection contains the largest number of works by pivotal
20th-century artists Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden in private hands,
including Lawrence's Genesis series and numerous original collages
by Southern-born Bearden."

This remarkable collection is a testament
to the discriminating taste of Dr. Walter O. Evans, a Telfair trustee who
was born in Savannah and recently returned to the city. Named one of America's
top 100 collectors by Art and Antiques magazine, Dr. Evans has been
collecting art since the late 1970s, beginning with his initial purchase
of a portfolio of prints by Jacob Lawrence. Over time, he developed personal
friendships with many of the artists represented in the collection. Evans
also collects rare books, manuscripts, and literature by prominent African
American figures. (left: Jacob Lawrence, Genesis Creation,
1989)

The Walter O. Evans Collection of African American Art is presented by International Paper Company. E93, V103.9, and
AM900 "The Light" Cumulus Broadcasting stations are media partners
for the exhibition The Walter O. Evans Collection of African American
Art.

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